Food love + Paleo Diet

This is not a secret: I LOVE FOOD. If I could marry food, I would. But apparently that is not only illegal but also looked down on. Anyway, some people would say that I love to eat everything ever, but in reality, it’s not every single edible thing in the world. I eat more of a “Paleo Diet”. Let me explain…

So, for example, I would just rather eat a banana than a bag of potato chips. Or almonds rather than candy. Or a chicken drumstick rather than a hot dog.

So I recently came to this conclusion: I apparently don’t really like processed foods, and enjoy eating real food!

Because of my love for delicious real food, something called “Paleo” really piqued my interest. Because I’m too lazy to explain it well here’s an explanation from Paleo Leap:

“A Paleo diet, also known as paleolithic diet or caveman diet is all about natural foods to help achieve great health and a perfect physique. The human body evolved for more than 2 million years with the food found in nature: game meat, fish, vegetables, wild fruits, eggs and nuts. The human race was thriving on this diet high in animal fat and proteins and low in carbohydrates, but things changed when we introduced unnatural foods to our bodies.”

Long story short: The theory is that evolution is a SLOW process, so we should stick with the natural food diet that humans (genetically same as you and me now) ate before all these processed foods became part of our lives.

Now, some people take this too far, and say – oh you’re going to eat exactly like a caveman. WRONG. First of all, you can’t even eat like a real caveman if you wanted because those plants and animals aren’t even around any more. Second, it’s more about using that as a guide/template for eating healthy. Like, “Hey, back in the days, did humans eat Oreos?” (The answer’s no.)

All right, so what is so great about this “paleo” lifestyle? Why do I like it so much?

Meat. I love meat. Meat is delicious. I want a steak everyday if possible, and on Paleo, I eats the meats. (I can also pretend to eat them like a cave man, but that is just a bonus.)

Paleo Oven Baked Chicken Drumsticks

I do love veggies too. It might not look like it when you see how I eat meat, but veggies, when cooked right and not just boiled in to a pile of soft blah, is DELISH! (Yes, even broccoli, try stir frying it! (And yes, I’m Asian and I stir fry, so unexpected))

Mushroom Celery Stir Fry

I feelawesome since I’ve started this whole Paleo thing. What is going on is I don’t get hungry because I am eating until I’m full, not like one of those diets where you eat so and so amount of something and you stop, and feel unfulfilled until the next meal, otherwise you feel guilty snacking in between. I get to eat when I’m hungry, and until I’m satisfied :)

But let me explain that I am not going 100% Paleo. Here’s some reasons why:

Rice. Rice is what you will find is one of those “Gray” area items on the paleo diet. Many paleo-eaters will touch it, while others avoid it like the plague. So if you don’t know this already, I’m Asian (don’t believe me, go check “about me” page). I most likely will be encountering rice at some point. But, it’s not as hard as you think – My goal is to eat more healthy things and cut down on less nutritional things. So, I’m originally from Taiwan, and a typical meal would be a bowl of rice and then several dishes of vegetables and meats. I used to eat probably a 1-to-1 ratio on vegetables/meats to rice. Now, I sometimes skip rice completely, or eat it like a 5-to-1 ratio. So that would kind of be like I eat 5 bites of vegetables/meats and then a bite of rice. It actually works out pretty great and I love that I am eating so much real food rather than chunks of white rice. I also believe that evolution is a changing process, yes it is slow, but still changing. So my thought is: if all my ancestors have been eating rice forever, I feel that it is less harmful than something like Doritos for my body. Woot, nutrition!

Occasionally, I’ll touch Cheese. A paleo diet where you also consume cheese is also known as a Primal diet. It’s basically another “Gray” area item, as many people whose bodies tolerate dairy will consume it. One interesting tidbit: Did you know that most mammals bodies stop producing lactase (the lactose digesting enzyme) after weaning (because that’s when they’re supposed to stop drinking that stuff)… and this includes humans! It is estimated that 75% of adults in the world start producing less lactase during adulthood. So, yeah… if you’re lactose intolerant, maybe lay off the cheese (for everyone’s sake).

Tiny Traces of Gluten… such as in Soy Sauce. Ahhhh!!! I SAID GLUTEN! I AM THE WORST. Okay, hear me out. Other than the whole #AsianCard thing, I really don’t fully believe in 100% avoiding something you’re not allergic to. Here’s the reason (and I’ve seen this happen many times before), if you cut something completely out of your diet… and then you accidentally (or intentionally) consume some later – bad things can happen to you. I’ve seen people get really sick (throwing up/digestive issues), breaking out in hives, and more. So, small traces of it – I can tolerate from time to time.

Legumes. Yep, these are actually not paleo approved. I don’t enjoy eating them much, but I don’t avoid it like the plague. I just believe some snap peas is still more healthy than a slice of white bread, ya know what I mean?

So I guess the POINT I’m trying to make here is:

Eat more Healthy stuff+ Eat less Unhealthy stuff = Be Healthy!!

Tina is a foodie that loves eating delicious and healthy. Having grown up in an Asian household in Atlanta, she loves creating and eating both Asian and American cuisine. Tina is the main blogger and owner of Oh Snap! Let’s Eat!. Read more…

In my opinion, Paleo is like vegetarian so how Paleo are you? If you eat fish and eggs does that make you less a vegetarian? In my opinion no, that’s why I named by blog The Imperfect Diet. If it works for you and your body than its right. By the way, if you really want to be true Paleo, then don’t cook your meat, no alcohol, no cooking your veggies, def. no drinks unless its water….. That is just unreasonable in our society. I love how some diehard Paleos make comments like “this is me after WOD while a little buzzed” but won’t eat tapioca flour… doesn’t make sense to me. Opinions welcome on this issue.

You have a very interesting point. As I mentioned before, I do not claim to be a Strict Paleo eater. (Also, most people aren’t by the way, in real life I’ve only heard of 2 people that do STRICT paleo, just because it is difficult.)

However, I do have to disagree with you in regards to vegetarians eating fish and eggs, as I know many vegetarians in real life, and even just the definition of it means that you do NOT eat any meat (which includes fish). Eggs, however, is kind of up to the vegetarian themselves. For example, some people see it as having had the potential to have life so will still consider it NON-vegetarian.

I do think it is interesting you mentioned that diehard Paleo people drink alcohol because all the ‘diehard Paleo’ people I’ve heard of don’t, and those that do drink never claim to be 100%. I recommend being about 80% Paleo, if you would like my opinion.

Hi! Thanks for stopping by! I sometimes do that, but usually if that’s not an option or if someone else is cooking (I usually don’t like to make special requests) then I will eat the white rice, but not much of it (not a whole bowl like I used to before I started eating Paleo). I’m about 75%-80% and I feel healthy and happy! :)

Hi there! thanks for helping spread the word about the paleo diet. I’m a true believer! I consider myself more “Primal” because this slight variation on the paleo eating philosophy gives dairy a thumbs up and promotes an 80/20 rule…which means you are allow to “cheat” from time to time. This is where the beer and rice come in!

Great viewpoint! I agree that you can follow a Paleo diet and make exception now and then or for specific foods that you feel good about. The way you describe the evolution of transitioning to this way of life mirrors the way I am trying to transition to a healthy way of thinking about myself/my weight/etc as well as a healthy way of eating! Thanks for posting :)

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment

Name *

Email *

Website

Hey there! My name is Tina and I love food! Oh Snap! Let's Eat! is all about healthy eating and living. There are tasty and healthy recipes, along with other health and food related things! Read more...